Poisoned Blade by Kate Elliott
Warning: may contain mild spoilers for the previous book, Court of Fives
In Poisoned Blade, the second novel in her COURT OF FIVES trilogy, Kate Elliott builds on the strengths of Court of Fives and expands upon it, weaving tangled webs of intrigue, deceit, and impressively multi-layered political schemes. Anyone who thinks Young Adult fiction can’t successfully handle themes like a culture’s endurance in defiance of colonialism,
September 27th, 2019. Jana Nyman and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4.5 | Kate Elliott | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
It’s always fascinating to read short stories written by your favourite author. Without the luxury of a longer page-count, they’re forced to hone their craft and get out of their comfort zone, and often some of their best work can be found in the short story format. Besides which, a lot can be said with just a few words. As Joanne Harris herself points out in her foreword, short stories: “provoke questions, whereas most novels tend to try and answer them.”
Harris is perhaps best known for Chocolat,
September 18th, 2019. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Joanne Harris | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Grail of Stars by Katherine Roberts
Grail of Stars (2014), the fourth and final book in Katherine Roberts‘s PENDRAGON LEGACY, sees the daughter of King Arthur Pendragon go in search of the last of the Four Lights that can restore her father to life and banish her evil cousin Mordred once and for all: the Grail of Stars.
Princess Rhianna is joined by her best friend Elphin from the Island of Avalon, the newly knighted Sir Cai who wields the Lance of Truth,
September 17th, 2019. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 2.5 | Katherine Roberts | Children | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine
As far as fairy tale retellings go, mingling the tale of The Twelve Dancing Princesses with the 1920’s New York speakeasies makes a lovely kind of sense. The prohibition, the dance halls, the high society – it all fits perfectly with the story of twelve princesses who sneak out of their rooms every night, much to the bewilderment of their father when he sees their worn-out shoes every morning.
Genevieve Valentine transports the familiar beats of the story to a Fifth Avenue townhouse in the Roaring Twenties,
September 16th, 2019. Rebecca Fisher and Jana Nyman´s rating: 3.5 | Genevieve Valentine | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
The Woman Who Rides Like a Man by Tamora Pierce
The Woman Who Rides Like a Man is the third volume of the SONG OF THE LIONESS quartet and the weakest volume of the series. Tamora Pierce makes a good effort of exposing Alanna (and thus, the reader) to some of the varying peoples and customs within the Tortallan kingdom and its neighboring countries, but relies too much on the White Savior trope, and the entire book suffers as a result. As I’ve said before,
September 9th, 2019. Jana Nyman and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3.5, 4 | Tamora Pierce | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Court of Fives by Kate Elliott
Kate Elliott has a well-deserved reputation for writing excellent science-fiction and fantasy for adults. Her characters, world-building, and societies are not only entertaining but well-crafted. It seems only natural that, at some point in her career, she would try her hand at Young Adult fiction. The result is Court of Fives, the first in a planned fantasy trilogy which is sure to appeal to younger readers as well as Elliott’s established fan base. While I’ve seen the novel described as “YA meets Game of Thrones,” Elliott herself has said,
September 4th, 2019. Jana Nyman, Tadiana Jones and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4.5 | Kate Elliott | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |
In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce
In the Hand of the Goddess is the second installment of Tamora Pierce’s SONG OF THE LIONESS quartet, and while Pierce does provide a fair amount of backstory and repetition of key details from the previous book, Alanna, I recommend reading the books in sequence. By starting at the beginning, readers will have a better appreciation for the trials and challenges Alanna experiences in her quest to become a knight,
September 3rd, 2019. Jana Nyman and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Tamora Pierce | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
Crown of Dreams by Katherine Roberts
Crown of Dreams (2013) is the third book in Katherine Roberts‘s four-part PENDRAGON LEGACY series, which details the quest undertaken by Princess Rhianna — daughter of Arthur Pendragon and his queen Guinevere — to find the Four Lights that might save the city of Camelot and restore her father back to life.
Already she has two of the four Lights in her possession: the Sword of Light and the Lance of Truth, the latter of which is now carried by her champion Sir Cai.
September 2nd, 2019. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3.5 | Katherine Roberts | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Lance of Truth by Katherine Roberts
Lance of Truth (2012) is the second book in Katherine Roberts‘s four-part story about the daughter of King Arthur Pendragon, and her quest to find the Four Lights (Sword of Light, Lance of Truth, Crown of Dreams and Holy Grail) that might restore her father to life and bring peace to Britain.
Princess Rhianna has lived her whole life on the enchanted isle of Avalon, but after learning of her parentage upon the death of King Arthur,
August 29th, 2019. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3.5 | Katherine Roberts | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
Here it is, The Raven King (2016), the fourth and final book in Maggie Stiefvater‘s THE RAVEN CYCLE, which began with The Raven Boys and continued with The Dream Thieves and Blue Lily, Lily Blue. And … it’s hard to know what to say. I’ve had mixed feelings throughout all four of the books, liking certain ideas and characters, but often getting a little fed up with the prose and dialogue,
August 28th, 2019. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Maggie Stiefvater | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Oh...and the men used the name "The Great Northern Expedition" to throw people off as to their actual destination, even…
Oh, it IS, Marion! It is!
Sorry if I mislead you in this detail, Paul...the voyage by ship was only the first leg of the quintet's…
The geography is confusing me--how does one get to a village in Tibet by ship? And even the northernmost part…
Oh, this sounds interesting!